An American millionaire, Arthur Kingsley Porter went missing from a Donegal island in July 1933. His body was never found.

At the inquest, his widow, Lucy described their life as "happy" but that wasn't fully the case. Her husband was gay and, as part of the treatment for the depression he suffered, she agreed to him taking another man into their marriage.

Both Lucy and Arthur were millionaires and both were art experts. She was a photographer and he was a university professor. They became fascinated with Ireland and they bought Glenveagh castle in Donegal and then built a simple cottage on Inis Bó Finne off the north coast of the county.

Summers in Donegal allowed the Kingsley Porters to immerse themselves in the Irish landscape and culture but it also gave them time away from the stresses of life back in the United States.

One of these stresses was an anti-gay campaign being run, at the time, by Arthur’s university, Harvard.

The college held a secret court to expose and expel gay students and faculty. Two students, accused of being gay, had already died by suicide. Arthur and Lucy were fearful his homosexuality would be revealed and there would be a scandal.

On July 8, 1933, Lucy and Arthur were visiting their cottage on Inis Bó Finne when he disappeared. Lucy and the islanders searched for hours but Arthur was never found.

The subsequent inquest – probably the first in Ireland without a body – decided that Arthur Kingsley Porter had fallen from cliffs into the sea. But rumours grew that a boat had been seen near the island at the time of his disappearance.

What did happen to Arthur Kingsley Porter? Was it an accident? Or, did he jump to his death fearing an impending scandal?

Or, was there really a boat waiting nearby that spirited him off to a new life with a new identity?

First broadcast RTE Radio 1, Sunday, July 25th 2021 at 6pm

Narrated by Marc McMenamin

Produced by Marc McMenamin and Ronan Kelly